The explorers sometimes made wise use of Indigenous knowledge, such as adopting the practice of the Sami people in Lapland of insulating boots with a kind of sedge called sennegrass — although that material could deteriorate over time and so needed replacing. Had they possessed the knowledge and technology, they might have more effectively deployed a biomimetic approach, learning instead from the ‘evolutionary wisdom’ that has benefited the non-human indigenous inhabitants of the poles. Polar-bear fur has an ingenious structure in which the hairs have a porous core that makes for good thermal insulation and low mass, surrounded by a tough, flexible shell that confers strength.

探险家有时会明智地利用土著知识，例如采用拉普兰萨米人的做法，用一种叫做千里草的莎草来绝缘靴子——尽管这种材料可能会随着时间的推移而变质，因此需要更换。如果他们拥有知识和技术，他们可能会更有效地采用仿生方法，而不是学习使两极非人类土著居民受益的“进化智慧”。北极熊皮毛具有巧妙的结构，其中毛发具有多孔芯，具有良好的隔热性和低质量，周围是坚韧、柔韧的外壳，可赋予强度。